Chestnut-bellied Guan Penelope ochrogaster Scientific name definitions

Endemic to Brazil, and considered to be globally threatened, the Chestnut-bellied Guan is most easily encountered in the northern Pantanal, but a seemingly disjunct population is also distributed, at lower densities, through the Araguaia Valley of central Brazil, at the northern end of which it comes into contact with the closely related White-crested Guan (Penelope pileata). At least formerly, the species was also found even farther south and east, in northern Minas Gerais. This is a medium-sized guan with a pale brown head, darker brown upperparts, and chestnut-rufous underparts, which are brightest on the belly and flecked white. There is also a whitish supercilium and a red-orange throat and dewlap. It seems to prefer high-ground, semideciduous forest with many lianas but a relatively open understory. Comparatively little is known of the species’ natural history.

67·5–75 cm. Sexes alike, except that male apparently has reddish eye , greyish in female, and legs are also more reddish in female (versus pale rust brown) (1 Delacour, J., and D. Amadon (2004). Curassows and Related Birds. Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. Close ). Recalls P. pileata, which is partially sympatric with this species, around the Ilha do Bananal, Tocantins, but plumage less contrasting, mainly because upperparts paler; hindneck of same general colour as rest of upperparts; browner ear-coverts. Reasonably extensive geographical overlap with P. superciliaris, but especially note latter’s rufous fringes to inner wing feathers and sometimes has rufous superciliary. Black band bordering bare facial skin and throat, and richer rufous underparts , distinguish present species from P. jacquacu, with which there is no known overlap.

Scattered localities in C Brazil, from W & S Tocantins and W Goiás to NC Minas Gerais, S Mato Grosso and N Mato Grosso do Sul (2 BirdLife International (2013). IUCN Red List for birds. URL: http://www.birdlife.org (download Aug 2013). Close ). Possibly to be found also in adjacent areas of Bolivia, where appropriate habitat widespread.

Typically occurs in swampy woods of deciduous trees and also savannas, in lowlands. Probably prefers heavily wooded areas rich in woody lianas along rivers or in swamps; also inhabits mixed areas of forest interspersed with savanna or campo. Preferred habitat in Poconé region, Mato Grosso, is semi-deciduous gallery forest 15–20 m tall with relatively light undergrowth (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ) and growing on higher terrain that is rarely flooded; during the dry season these areas generally have a heavy covering of leaf-litter on the ground. Similar habitat utilized in N Minas Gerais: riparian forest with canopy height of c.15–20 m and an open understorey dominated by Myrciaria sp. (Myrtaceae) and other tree species such as Enterolobium contortisiliquum, Hymenaea courbaril and Libidibia sp. (all Fabaceae) (4 Mazzoni, L. G., A. Perillo, S. D’Angelo Neto, M. F. Vasconcelos, and T. dos Santos (2015). Additions to the avifauna of Unaí and Cabeceira Grande, north-west Minas Gerais. Cotinga 37: 61–65. Close ).

No information available, but presumably sedentary.

Virtually no information available (5 Muñoz, M.C. and Kattan, G.H. (2007). Diets of cracids: how much do we know? Orn. Neotropical. 18(1): 21–36. Close ). Recorded feeding on flowers of Tabebuia impetiginosa (Bignoniaceae) and Vismia (Hypericaceae) trees (6 Olmos, F. (2003). Chestnut-bellied Guan Penelope ochrogaster in the Araguaia Valley, Tocantins. Cotinga. 20: 64–65. Close ), sometimes in company with Crax fasciolata and Pipile cumanensis (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ). Flowers reported to be especially important during dry season, when few fruits other than Ficus (Moraceae) figs are available; also observed taking young liana leaves and even fresh grass (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ). Feeds on ground  , where forages for invertebrates, but more regularly in canopy and midstorey of trees (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ). Sometimes recorded associating but not necessarily foraging with Ortalis canicollis (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ).

Very little published information. Loud wing-whirring display is given mostly around dawn (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ). In alarm gives harsh, trumpeting or raucous barking call  deemed similar to the analagous vocalization of P. jacucaca, but harsher than that of P. superciliaris (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ). Lower-intensity version rather ‘huffing’, and somewhat like a small dog barking  .

Season suspected to be Oct–Nov, at least in Pantanal of Mato Grosso (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ). Clutch size recorded as consisting of two eggs. No further information available.

VULNERABLE. Endemic to Cerrado biome sensu lato. Populations only partly protected. Has been considered very rare; in contrast, some authorities state species to be uncommon, but not particularly threatened. Very few specimen and sight records away from Pantanal, suggesting low population size, or at least that species is either highly localized or very secretive. Rarest cracid in semi-deciduous forest in the Pantanal; appears to be moderately common around Poconé, Mato Grosso , where hunting pressure is relatively limited, and in parts of S & W Tocantins (7 Dornas, T., and R. T. Pinheiro (2011). Aves coligidas por José Hidasi e Manoel Santa‑Brígida na Amazônia Tocantinense: implicações para a distribuição geográfica das aves amazônicas brasileiras. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 19(2): 276–301. Close ), with possible records from C Tocantins (8 Lopes, L.E. and Bras, V.S. (2007). Aves da região de Pedro Afonso, Tocantins, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 15(4): 530–537. Close ) and definite records from E Tocantins in the Jalapão region (9 Pacheco, J. F., and F. Olmos (2010). As aves do Tocantins, Brasil – 2: Jalapão. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 18(1):1–18. Close ); not recorded since at least 1960 from Barranquinho, SW Mato Grosso. Perhaps also occurs further N in Tocantins than currently known (7 Dornas, T., and R. T. Pinheiro (2011). Aves coligidas por José Hidasi e Manoel Santa‑Brígida na Amazônia Tocantinense: implicações para a distribuição geográfica das aves amazônicas brasileiras. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 19(2): 276–301. Close ). Relatively few recent records from Goiás (6 Olmos, F. (2003). Chestnut-bellied Guan Penelope ochrogaster in the Araguaia Valley, Tocantins. Cotinga. 20: 64–65. Close ), mainly along R Araguaia, along which river it is also known from extreme E & NE Mato Grosso (10 Kirwan, G. M., A. Whittaker, and K. J. Zimmer (2015). Interesting bird records from the Araguaia River Valley, central Brazil, with comments on conservation, distribution and taxonomy. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 135(1):21–60. Close ); species’ range is probably far more extensive and much less disjunct in Araguaia Valley than previously suspected (10 Kirwan, G. M., A. Whittaker, and K. J. Zimmer (2015). Interesting bird records from the Araguaia River Valley, central Brazil, with comments on conservation, distribution and taxonomy. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 135(1):21–60. Close ). In N Minas Gerais (where until recently last recorded in 1913) has been recorded in handful of municipalities in last decade (4 Mazzoni, L. G., A. Perillo, S. D’Angelo Neto, M. F. Vasconcelos, and T. dos Santos (2015). Additions to the avifauna of Unaí and Cabeceira Grande, north-west Minas Gerais. Cotinga 37: 61–65. Close ) and species also still extant in Mato Grosso do Sul, where not reported since 1909, until very recently  (11 Pacheco Nunes, A. (2011). Registros ornitológicos na região alagada pelo rio Taquari, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Atualidades Orn.. 160: 38–44. Close ). No threats definitely known, but species is presumably hunted for food and probably suffering some habitat loss, given considerable agricultural development within its range. Occurs within Cantão State Park (90,017 ha) (6 Olmos, F. (2003). Chestnut-bellied Guan Penelope ochrogaster in the Araguaia Valley, Tocantins. Cotinga. 20: 64–65. Close ), Araguaia National Park (although area of latter has been substantially reduced in recent decades and remaining 500,000 ha is subject of dispute with indigenous peoples) (6 Olmos, F. (2003). Chestnut-bellied Guan Penelope ochrogaster in the Araguaia Valley, Tocantins. Cotinga. 20: 64–65. Close ), the SESC-Pantanal reserve (87,871 ha, the largest privately owned conservation unit in Brazil) (3 del Hoyo, J., and A. Motis (2004). Update chapter. In Curassows and Related Birds (J. Delacour, and D. Amadon), Second edition. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain, and American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA. pp. 322–476. Close ) and at least around periphery of Pantanal National Park (135,000 ha). Very rare in captivity.